


Let the Past Die and Keep the Hope Alive

by spiritmadeofstars



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Happy Ending, I refuse to view the movie ending as the real end to this story, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritmadeofstars/pseuds/spiritmadeofstars
Summary: TROS spoilers!!A different ending to The Rise of the Skywalker. I hope it makes you feel better.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Let the Past Die and Keep the Hope Alive

She opened her eyes and there he was. Was she dreaming? Or dead? 

She stared into his eyes and he stared back. There was doubt in his eyes, fear and maybe something else, she was not sure. She was a little bit confused as to how she ended up in his arms, but suddenly she saw his thoughts. She was on the ground, dying, almost dead, eyes wide open... But he could not let her go like that. She sensed how scared he was as he found her lying there, almost lifeless. She could hear his heart beating, so fast and loud, just like her heart.

" _Ben,_ " she smiled. She felt that he was by her side, _on_ _her side_. 

She kissed him passionately, finally letting go of her fear of falling for the Dark Side. She fell for Ben, and he fell for her. Somehow they were both in between the dark and the light now, or above the separation of the two.

They felt peace, they felt balanced.

She could not stop touching his face.

"Are you really here? Is this an illusion or am I dead? I am afraid that if I blink, you might just disappear into thin air and I'll be alone, again," she tried to push the thought of that possibility in the back of her mind. 

"I am not going anywhere, Rey, I promise. At least not without you. Not now, not ever." Rey knew he was telling the truth. They both felt that they were connected, through the Force or perhaps something else, that they could not be separated.

As the walls were crumbling around them, they realized where they were. Still weak from the fight, they helped each other to stand and run to safety. They escaped on Luke's ship.

"Rey, where are we gonna go now?" Ben asked, aware of what he had done and how the galaxy felt about his actions. He could not just walk into the base and smile and wave at everyone. He was a little scared of what Rey's answer would be. _Did she want to return there?_ _Where did she want to go?_

"I have to go and see Finn and Leia... Oh, Ben, Leia!" She said, eyes wide open and starting to water as she remembered.

"I know. Rey, she did not just sacrifice herself for me to realize what that I should not fight you, fight the light inside me," Ben looked away. "She sacrificed her life for you, for us. Without her strength I would not have been able to bring you back, I was too weak after the fight, too scared I would lose you. She saved us _both_." His voice was shaking. He felt guilty. He had done so many wrong things, yet his mother and father could not stop loving him. He must have been blind for all these years.

"I'm so sorry," Rey said. "She always though of you. Her mind was always searching for you. Her eyes always searching for your face in the crowd." Ben felt ashamed. He knew that all Rey had ever wanted was to have a family that would miss her. And here he was, unappreciative of his family. Killed his father, his mother died for him. He could not look Rey in the eyes.

"Don't be, Rey. I know it's my fault and I cannot change it now. It hurts. It hurts so much to realize it all now. But perhaps it's just how it was meant to be. Perhaps all the bad stuff is, in the end, good for something. Don't you think?" He tried to smile, but Rey could see the sadness in his eyes. Now they both had almost nothing. Their past was truly dead now. _But we still have the future... and the present._

"It is, Ben. Let's focus on the good stuff from now on, okay?" she touched his hand. It was so warm. Hers was trembling from all that had happened. 

"Okay." The sadness in his eyes was replaced by hopefulness.

...

Rey flew to the base. She wanted to make sure her friends were safe. They were all so happy, celebrating their victory and their fallen heroes. I looked as if all the worries suddenly vanished. It was time for peace and quiet, for happiness to flourish. She saw Finn and Poe and smiled at them. They hugged and she watched as Luke's ship flew away. She closed her eyes.

"I have to go now," she said. Poe and Finn stared at her, shocked.

"Why? You just came here, we just won!" said Finn with a big smile on his face. But he felt something, saw a thought forming in her mind. "Oh, Rey, I can feel the force, I felt you slipping away! I thought you were dead!"

"I guess I was, but _he_ brought me back," she whispered. Her friends looked at her, confused. "Ben and Leia saved me. Now I have to go, _we_ have to go." Finn and Poe looked at her confused.

"Ben what!?" exclaimed Finn.

"But we just go here as well, where do you want us to go?" Poe asked. He was tired and so happy that they were alive, perhaps he overheard her saying Ben's name. Finn wanted to say something but Rey cut him off.

"No, sorry, not you Poe, at least not now. You have to rest and celebrate. Ben is alive and frankly he cannot just walk in here and tell everyone he helped me kill Palpatine and saved my life. People are not ready for such a turn of events. We're going to go to a quiet place to clean our head and figure out what exactly we are. Oh my there is so much to tell you. But I feel like I need to go now when no one is paying attention," she looked around. Would they follow her? Would they want to hurt Ben? Did anyone notice Luke's ship? "Please, I know I am asking too much without much information, but trust me. I will explain everything a bit later, when things die down a bit. Okay?" Do they trust her? Do they think she lost her mind, or that he was perhaps controlling her?

She had told him about the Force connection that Snoke created, but never too much detail. She thought it was all just Snoke, that he clouded their minds. But she knew that what she felt could not have been created by Snoke. But she wanted to forget about how she felt about Ben, about _Kylo Ren_. She feared people would call her a traitor and she would be left alone again, or that it would push her to the dark side. But now she knew, their feelings were real. It did not matter if Snoke created their bond, or if they were a Force Dyad. All that mattered was that it was _real_.

Finn and Poe were looking at each other. It almost looked like they were telepathically speaking, debating about what they should do with the information she had told them. They both looked at her, soft smiles across their faces. "Do what you have to do," said Poe.

"But be careful!" Finn jumped in. "That guy, I don't know what you are thinking, but I trust you. But you will have to contact us, like, real soon, so we can have a chat about all this!" Rey smiled, she was happy. Finn cared about her so much, she realized how happy she was, that she could choose her own little _family._ She hugged them, gave both a kiss on a cheek and quietly boarded the Falcon.

...

He was waiting for on Tatooine. I was his idea, but she did not oppose. She knew that like Jakku, another sandy planet was a good place to go disappear. A perfect hideaway, at least for now.

They decided to take shelter in the home where Luke grew up, and before him, Anakin. There was no better place for a new start than a place where a great Jedi master and a great Sith Lord grew up, she though half seriously, half jokingly. Was it even a good idea? Rey was not sure what they were actualy going to do.

"Don't worry, Rey, we'll figure something out." Ben smiled, but the his expression changed. "Do... do you still think I am a monster?" he asked. Rey looked at him, her lips presser into a thin line. She felt like she had known Ben for years, but at the same time she felt like everything happened so fast.

"I don't know. I don't think I do. I think Kylo Ren, in his mask, was a monster. But you.. you are Ben," Rey was was feeling conflicted now. She had so much to say, she wanted to talk about so many things. "Ben, I realize how much is on your shoulders, I know you have hurt people, I know. But you thought you were doing those things, because you believed it would actually mean something good. You were persuaded by bad people to become bad yourself. You were misguided. But people change. And although you did commit horrible, horrible things," Ben looked sad when she said that. "I cannot put all the blame on you. And I do not want to. I know it might seem wrong to be here with you, but I do not care," she stepped closer to him and placed her warm hand on her scarred cheek. She felt lost in her words, she did not want Ben to feel bad, but she felt like her words were causing him to frown more and more.

"It's alright. I know you don't want to hurt me, Rey. But I know your words are true. It will take time to... just to figure this out. Our place in this galaxy. All I know is that _my_ place is next to you." 

Rey smiled. She felt the same. Even though there was a lot to take in about both of them. "I mean, I am still a..." she hesitated. She wanted to find her parents, her family, but what she found out was nothing like she expected. Perhaps it would have been better if her parents were nobodies. "Palpatine is still my grandfather. Although I have not committed his crimes, I feel guilty nonetheless." Ben understood. They were both silent after that. 

They decided to bury Luke's and Leia's lightsabers not far away from the house. As they hid them in the sand, two force ghosts appeared in front of them. Rey and Ben felt a sting in their hearts, as Leia stood in front of them, and by her side, Luke. They did not say anything, they did not have to. They looked happy, content. And seeing them made Ben and Rey feel more peaceful as well, and suddenly they were gone.

"You know," said Ben. "I think we should really let the past die. I do not want to be remembered as Kylo Ren, or even as Ben Solo. Those names are marked with pain and anger, and I would rather not succumb to those again."

"And I do not want to be remembered as the granddaughter of Palpatine."

Ben thought about it for a while, as he was looking at the twin suns of Tatooine. Then he looked at where Luke and Leia stood. "This is our new beginning, let's both start our journey with a spark of hope," Rey looked at him, waiting for him to finish somehow. She followed his gaze and then she smiled.

They both knew that the name did not really belong to any of them, but at the same time it felt right to not let it die, this one part of the past should live on. It has been associated with both dark and light, and now it was time for the name to mean something new.

Ben and Rey

_Skywalker_

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. I did not like the ending. This is my gift to all our broken hearts. I hope it makes you feel better.
> 
> Let's remember that our imagination is a powerful gift and we should use it to make other feel happy and hopeful, not sad and disappointed. 
> 
> I included the Skywalker ending purely because of the movie. I feel like it would not really matter to them, even if they remained nameless, but I feel I gave it a passable explanation.
> 
> I wish you all a beautiful 2020. Hope we will see each other here more often, May the force be with you.
> 
> ((Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first languages, so my syntax sometimes gets mixed up. I also have not written fanfiction in literal years, so please be kind to me.))
> 
> Edit: I also feel like this idea might have been executed by someone before me, but I have not read any post TROS/ fix-it works, so I wouldn't know. This is just how I, personally, would change the ending.


End file.
